Sea monsters

Gerry Quinn · 28 May 2011, 20:48 · from 2011-May.txt.gz

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From: gerryq at indigo.ie (Gerry Quinn)
Date: Sat, 28 May 2011 21:48:44 +0100
Subject: (urth) Sea monsters
References: <BANLkTin1O89wUn0DnVbw6kN4PFFC3Vxn3w at mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <F57194FF9CEC4A4BBCD17FEB6D424055@jill>


From: "Andrew Mason" <andrew.mason53 at googlemail.com>

> '... the ice in the south is already gathering new strength. To this
> ice of ten chiliads will be added the ice of the winter now almost
> upon us, and the two will embrace like brothers and begin their march
> upon these northern lands. Great Erebus, who has established his
> kingdom there, will soon be driven before them, with all his fierce,
> pale warriors. He will unite his strength with Abaia's, whos kingdom
> is in the warm waters. With others, less in might but equal in
> cunning, tehy will offer allegiance to the rulers of the lands belong
> Urth's waist, which you call Ascia; and once united with them will
> devour them entirely.'
>
> Several things here: .
> a. There are two big monsters and an indeterminate number of little
> monsters - perhaps as many as fifteen, though we can't know that.
> b. It explains what Erebus is doing so far north, though his base was
> in the south.
> c. It explains how they came to dominate the Ascians - by originally
> offering themselves as servants.
> d. It shows that the monsters were already established on Urth in
> Typhon';s time - which fits _Short Sun_, but does not seem to fit, on
> a natural reading, Typhon;s words in SOTL. Come to think of it, this
> might be relevant to the question of a changing chronology.

I don't think it really contradicts Typhon's words, not strongly anyway.  He 
says something like "there are powers in the sea, that would rule", but he 
might simply not have bothered to mention "they were no more than pests in 
my time".

Perhaps Typhon tolerated the undersea rulers so long as they kept to their 
watery domain.

- Gerry Quinn

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